J&K encounter: Kulgam anti-terror operation ends after searches

4 hours ago 5

ARTICLE AD BOX

SRINAGAR: A day after two Army personnel, including a JCO, and two terrorists were killed in an encounter in the forests of Guddar in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, the anti-terror operation concluded Tuesday after a thorough search of the area, a senior official said.CM Omar Abdullah paid floral tributes to the fallen soldiers — Subedar Perbhat Gaur and Lance Naik Narender Sindhu — at a wreath-laying ceremony in Srinagar on Tuesday.This was the second encounter in Kulgam in a month, and raised the year’s security toll in J&K to 19. The district saw one of the longest gunfights in recent years from Aug 1-13 in Akhal Khulsan forests after a search party came under fire. The ultras retreated into dense ravines, prompting a massive operation with drones deployed for aerial scans.

Two soldiers were killed on Aug 11 before forces ended the operation 48 hours after losing contact.Of the 19 security personnel killed in J&K operations this year, six have died in Kashmir and 13 in Jammu division.Security agencies said 18 terrorists have been killed across Kashmir this year since the April 22 Pahalgam attack, including three Lashkar-e Taiba commanders linked to that strike. The trio was shot dead in Srinagar on July 28.

SIA arrests fugitive narco-terror operative in Pulwama

SRINAGAR: J&K Police’s State Investigation Agency has arrested a suspected narco-terror operative from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police claimed Tuesday.

The accused, Abdul Rashid Bhat, is accused in a 2022 narco-terror case. He had been evading arrest for more than two years and was designated a “proclaimed offender” by the court.

“Rashid is the third absconder to be arrested in the case so far, following years of pursuit. His arrest marks a severe blow to the Lashkar-e-Taiba-operated narco-terror module backed by Pakistan-based handlers,” SIA stated.

The LeT-backed module was involved in smuggling narcotics and arms through dead drop consignments near the Line of Control in Karnah sector and subsequent transportation and sale throughout the Valley. “Sale proceeds of these narcotic substances were later channelised to sustain the waning terrorism in J&K. So far, multiple chargesheets have been filed in this case,” SIA stated.

Read Entire Article